IN ADMIRATION BEFORE AN ARTIST
When we arrived at the Academy of Arts, the queue was not that daunting and although I was somewhat reticent, Pierrette suggested that as we were there, we visited the exhibition at once. My Icom card worked wonders and we sailed through. The crowds though were there and I would think that not only will this exhibition be a block buster but it may well change people’s way of thinking. I have come across Ai Weiwei's work (1957-) often over the years and saw a photographic exhibition long before I created my blog. He is an artist that fascinates me. I had hoped to see his work when I was in China but never found his studio. Probably the time he was in jail. But to start with, in the courtyard there was an installation of trees. Ai’s trees are made from parts of dead trees that are brought down from the mountains of southern China and sold in the markets of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Ai transports these to his studio in Beijing where they are made into trees. As he says, “i